A summary chronology of the major milestones in the history of oil painting, with copious illustrations from the masters.
Rubens
His later paintings in particular were the first major works to exploit the visual effects produced by surface texture. How?
Rubens’ methods were extensively documented by a contemporary. Do they reveal or conceal any dark secrets?
A selection of the better paintings from Tissot’s 350+ on the life of Christ, and his unfinished series of Old Testament stories.
A simple story with an obvious climax to be shown. But getting the composition right proves a test even for the Masters.
There have been four different readings of this well-known painting. Does any of them work, or should we look to a different account?
Concluding the analysis of narrative paintings showing Andromeda’s rescue from sacrifice to Cetus, the sea monster.
First of two parts looking at the many great paintings of Andromeda’s rescue from sacrifice to Cetus.
An unusually moral story of the classical gods; superb paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt, Elsheimer, and others.
Byrne-Jones tried to tell the complex story of Perseus and Andromeda in a series of 10 paintings. Here is the story and background.
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